Care Pro of the Year Betty Savors Her Bonds With Clients
One of Care Professional Betty Freeman’s longtime clients passed away 4½ years ago, but Betty’s memories of the client are as clear as ever. “I still think about her all of the time, and I believe I always will,” said Betty, who was honored as the 2024 Care Pro of the Year at Home Instead® of Mount Airy, an award-winning franchise owned by Van and Ann Lankford.
For Betty and other Care Pros, clients often become like family members. “As a Home Instead Care Pro, I’ve been lucky because I’ve been able to have the same client sometimes for three to four years at a time. That’s really ideal. My clients have been precious people. I get attached to my clients. I’ve gone to a nursing home to be with a client at the family’s request. Losing one is heartbreaking,” Betty said.
Four and a half years ago, an 87-year-old client’s death was a shock. “It hit all of us hard,” Betty recalled, “including me, her family, friends, acquaintances and her church. She was lonesome for her late husband, who had passed away nine years before she did. Dementia was starting to creep in, and I think possibly that affected her emotions.”
Betty added: “Overall, she began having medical problems and grew tired of going to the doctor. Aging is not easy for anyone. As far as companionship, I think we connected well. Sometimes you must try to persuade some of your clients that they are not a burden to anyone and that they are still well-loved and respected. That’s how I truly feel about each client.”
Betty was highly regarded by the client and her family and was asked to sit with them during the client’s private memorial service and burial. In fact, Home Instead, Betty and another Care Pro were praised for their care in the client’s obituary. “After her service, the family wrote thank-you notes to me. The death took me by such a surprise that Van Lankford gave me a week off from work to mourn and emotionally process the death. He was compassionate and also offered counseling, but I felt I bounced back because I’ve been through the loss of clients,” Betty said.
Betty has experienced the full range of emotions during her 11 years with Home Instead. Mostly, the good memories of helping a vulnerable senior remain in his or her home are the dominant ones. “I joined Home Instead on Jan. 20, 2014. I saw Home Instead in a newspaper advertisement. I thought to myself, ‘I think I’ll try that,’ ” said Betty, who was first honored as a Care Pro of the Month in her early years with Home Instead.
Betty worked for 48 years at Renfro Hosiery Mill in Mount Airy before retiring four years ago. “I had continued to work there after Home Instead hired me. I was a high school graduate when I began working at Renfro. Home Instead was my first professional senior-care job,” said Betty, who holds two other jobs in addition to her Care Pro position.
“Even more than working a daily shift, I’ve also been a live-in Care Pro in which I’ve stayed with a 24/7 client for four or five days at a time. Then, another Care Pro comes in and takes over. In cases like that, you really get to know the client so well. I was in a live-in role for a couple of years. When you are part of a 24/7 team for a client, you are in constant communication with the other Care Pros. You journal what has gone on with the client so that everyone knows. There is an art to the team aspect of care for a 24/7 client. You’ve all got to be on the same page.”
Betty worked for a year and a half with her most recent client, an 89-year-old widow. “I was with her five days a week. She fell on Thanksgiving when she was with family, was hospitalized and moved to a rehabilitation facility. She may need to go to a nursing home, and I may lose her as a client,” Betty explained. “Before I was her Care Pro, her husband was my client for about a year before he died. After that, the family and the widow wanted me to remain with her. She looked forward to seeing me. She didn’t want anyone else to assist her beyond me and her family members. My shifts increased with her, and she was good to me.”
The client kept scrapbooks and picture books, and she looked at them with Betty while discussing her family and law enforcement career. “She had great stories. She was retired from the state patrol and had worked in their office. She was a church attender until her mobility became so challenging. I just enjoyed being with her. She raised well-educated kids and is justifiably proud of them,” Betty said.
If Betty does lose her client to a care community, Betty looks forward to the next senior she can help. Betty doesn’t see an end in sight to her job. “I want to continue to work until the day when I need a Care Pro,” Betty joked. “I think Van and Ann are great. The whole office is great.”
